The Preventers
by Dragonmaster870
Summary: Say, what if Madoka worded her wish differently? Like, in such a way that prepubescent and pubescent boys could contract as well, though with a very special job description? My first fic, hope you enjoy.
1. Chapter 1: Return from Leave

**A/N: Yeah, hey guys. This is my very first fic I've posted. I'm nervous to be posting this, it's almost like my pre-game jitters I have before my football games. Anyway, this has been nagging at me in my subconscious ever since I've watched PMMM, so I'm excited to finally let this out. R&R and such, just keep to constructive criticism, if you can. If it's really that bad, I guess you can't help but be evil about it. Oh, and just to be clear, there are probably going to be quite a few content errors; I'm doing this behind my parents' backs, and they think I'm doing something for school. I can't exactly watch it without them noticing.**

**This fic starts the timeline after the one the story is set in (so I think it would be the ninth. Maybe.), though Madoka makes a different wish. Well, maybe not so much different than it actually had a different outcome.**

**Oh, I almost forgot the disclaimer! I don't really like these things; I think they just waste space, but it needs to be done. *cough cough* **

_**I do not own Puella Magi Madoka Magica; I could never create something so amazing. Though I do own my OCs, Keishoutto Kyousuke (who is not to be confused with Kamijou Kyousuke) and Keishoutto Nanime. Again, the horribly depressing PMMM is the property of Gen Urobuchi.**_

**Enjoy, I guess.**

**Chapter 1: Return from Leave**

* * *

I puke. Again. Yeah, I do happen get airsick. A lot. This has got to be at least the thirtieth time I've been to the bathroom. But, I left in the middle of the year for family business, and planes are unfortunately the fastest way to and from. I was just in Oregon for my dad's funeral, and I'm on the flight to Mitakihara now. We have about 30 minutes left until landing, but I'm not going to feel any better until I'm off this plane.

I open the door and walk back to my seat beside my sister, Keishoutto Nanime. She has deep purple hair and turquoise eyes, just like me. In fact, she's beautiful. Just … like … me. I'm told that I'm very effeminate in appearance, and have been forced to cross-dress by many of my female friends.

Yeah, this is what my parents have blessed me with: a life of confusion and humiliation.

Nanime seems to be in a trance and is staring intently out of the window. I decide to do the same; anything that can get her to stare like that is either pissing her off or is very, very strange.

When I look outside, I'm nauseated and fascinated at the same time. Though I feel like I might hurl again, I can't quite turn away. Down in an alleyway, I see a dark-haired girl appear seemingly out of thin air. I can't quite see what she's wearing, but it looks like of uniform of sorts. There's something round on her arm, and, if that sort of thing weren't obsolete, you would think it's a shield. She raises her arm, and a sort of symbol flashes in front of her, then she steps into it, and both disappear.

After that, I rush back to the restroom. When I get out, we're landing, so I just go to my seat and get my bags.

After a few moments, Nanime turns to me. "Onii-chan?" she says.

"Yes, Nanime?" We don't really talk, and whenever we do she's either asking a favor, insulting me, or telling me to get away from her. In fact, I think it's the first time she's ever addressed me with the title "Onii-chan". I guess our dad's death, no matter how distant we were from him, brought us together. Now, I'm actually anxious to speak to her.

"You saw that too, right?" she asks, clutching her own bag tightly.

"Yes." I whisper, barely audible, even to myself, but she somehow heard over the commotion.

We exit the plane and ride our bicycles back to our mom's house, where we head inside and just sit down. Well, I sit down and my sister goes to her room. Our mom is out doing her job, and she's always leaving either while we're at school, or late at night to do it. This occurrence apples to the latter, as it is ten o'clock. She dubs it "protecting the people", and it leaves me wondering who are the people so important that she doesn't spend time with her own children.

"_Ah, you're back, Keishoutto Kyousuke, Nanime._"

That voice, communicating to us telepathically, belongs to Kyuubey, a cat-rabbit thingy that supposedly has the power to grant any wish in exchange for your soul. I think it sounds just a _teensy_ bit shady, because I feel like he's withholding important information. So, until I feel I've gotten all the information, neither I nor my sister shall "contract", as he calls it.

"Hello Kyuubey. Any idea where Mom is?" I ask.

"_Yukiko is out hunting witches. The work of a Puella Magi is never done."_ He says nonchalantly, as he leaps and curls up in my lap.

"Yeah, sure. Why do you have to make her sound like a superhero?" I ask, and start stroking his fur. I never really thought much of the word witches; I just think it's some military code for mega evil and malicious women. Maybe they're members of a bosozoku or yakuza gangs or something.

He looks up at me with those beady pink eyes. _"I am not doing that; I'm simply stating the facts."_

"Yeah, yeah, okay."

After a few moments of silence, Kyuubey does the same thing my mom does and just _leaves_. No words, he just gets up and walks out of the doggy door. The only difference is he doesn't stare at a purple looking gem for a few moments prior.

Such is my life.

A few moments later my mind starts wandering, mainly to the unusual sight we saw on the plane. Questions, questions, questions. Who was that? What was that symbol? Where did they go? Could she be like my mom; one of those Puella Magi Kyuubey speaks of?

Breaking me out of my thoughts, my sister walks into the room, clad in her Hello Kitty pajamas.

"You're just sitting in here without at least the TV on? You're weirder than I thought." She insults me, sits down on the sofa and turns on the TV.

I don't even notice her until she turns to the news and I hear of an attempted mass suicide. I look up immediately, because I think I know where this is going.

"… Everyone involved said that they didn't know how they got there or even knew what they were doing; and all of them said they saw a purple-haired woman with turquoise eyes upon awakening."

"You think that's mom?" I ask, now focused.

"Who else? It's not like it's one of us; as far as I know we're the only three with this feature combination it this city." She says.

"Hmm…" This really comes as no surprise to me; she does stuff like this all the time, though she receives no accolades and doesn't utter a word about it. Kyuubey, Nanime, and I all know it's her doing it, but to everyone else it's a mystery. Kyuubey doesn't exactly provide any congratulations, and we provide much, but she's modest to the point of annoyance. She can take some congratulations every once in a while.

"I'm…gonna go make some tea." I declare, and proceed to walk the ten steps to the kitchen. Then I look back. "You want some?"

"Yes, please." She confirms.

To be specific, I'm making green tea. I find it very calming, especially when paired with Helen Jane Long's Porcelain album. I'm not very musical in ability. I can say I have an ear for good music, but I can't play an instrument to save my life. That said, music is a wonderful thing.

When I'm finished making it, I give a cup to my sister then sit down with mine. I sit in silence, not really have anything to say. I just listen to music until I finish my tea, then I wash up.

In the half hour it took me to drink my tea, I exchanged no words with Nanime. My home life is just drab. Nothing goes on, my sister is difficult to deal with, and my mom doesn't let us go "witch hunting" with her. That's why I spend all of my time outside of the house—there's nothing to look forward to here.

I slip into my nightclothes and tell my sister goodnight, leaving her to whatever chick-flick she's watching tonight. When I get upstairs, I put in my ear buds, choosing Yiruma's Piano Museum as my music for tonight, and wait for sleep to take me away.


	2. Chapter 2: May the games begin!

**A/N: Sorry for the crappy 1,500 word first chapter; I was just at a loss for what to put next. And, it looked like a pretty good place to end it. Don't worry; chapters will continually get lengthier—the next one will be at least 2,500 (probably way more). In which I'm doing the bare minimum of my ability.**

**I am going to give people a chance to create their own witch, as I'm short of ideas in that field. There will be mostly original witches, aside from Oktavia von Seckendorff, Kriemhild Gretchen, H.N. Elly (Kirsten), Walpurgis Nacht, Elsa Maria, Charlotte, Gertrud, Gisela, Suleika, and my own, Zafina. There are three left for me to incorporate—I'll decide the order in which they appear, and there will be a mention and a thanks in the author's note for the chapter it's in. So...yeah. **

**Chapter 2: May the games begin!**

* * *

I wake up to As You Wish on Yiruma's Piano Museum; I could tell immediately. It reminds me of a sappy moment in a television show, like when someone's remembering better times. Though it almost bothers me; seeing the name of the song and relating it to my mom and a Mr. Rabbit-Thingy. I'd like to see someone cross-breed to create something like Kyuubey, that'll end up the eighth wonder of the world.

_Bad, Kyousuke, bad! Thinking about that first thing in the morning will mess up your day!_

On that note, I decide to actually open my eyes, and check my alarm clock. But my eyes immediately fly to the painting mounted to the ceiling—one I made myself at age 6. I'm actually pretty proud of it. It was my very first painting, the one that made me realize I was gifted in that field. It's on a 91.44 x 71.12 cm canvas, and it's an abstract work. It's honestly very cheerful, though with a tinge of sadness reflecting on my parents' separation. The color theme would be yellow with all its tints, tones, and shades, and a deep blue likewise. The canvas is covered completely, with many well-placed squiggles and convenient color blending. My best piece yet.

Anyway, the time is...7:45. It takes me around twenty minutes to get situated, then another twenty to get to Mitakihara City Middle School. School starts at 8:30, which leaves me...five minutes to actually get into my class. No biggie, I don't think.

"Rise and shine, honey!" exclaims my mom.

Now it's a biggie.

She gives me a wide grin, and I get nervous. This usually means I'm about to be smothered by some powerful motherly love.

And that's exactly what happened. I am pulled into an unnaturally tight hug, outlined with a floral smell. My mom is very energetic, and would die for us, which she has emphasized a million times over. She has no problem showing how much she loves us at any given time, which is often at the most inopportune times. But I'm glad I can receive this treatment, no matter how painful—times like these don't come often, so I'd do well to enjoy it while I can.

"Nice to see you...too...Mom..." I let out with much struggle.

"Oh how I've missed you~! I couldn't take my mind off you two during work!" she beamed, practically shaking with joy—trust me, I would now by how tight she's holding me.

"Shouldn't you focus...on...your work...rather than...us?" I somehow squeeze out. I'm flattered, but saying that is just going to make me worry.

She releases me and wears a troubled expression. "I guess you're right..."

Then her smile returns, and she starts pinching my cheeks. "I'm glad I have such a smart kid!"

_It's actually just common sense..._

Now my cheeks are getting sore. "Ow. Mom, please stop harassing me." I request, pulling her hands from my face gently.

She laughs. "Oh, okay. I guess I'd better wake up Nanime."

It took me a second, but I finally processed that.

"You haven't checked on her yet?"

"No. Why?"

"I left her up alone last night! Anything could've happened!" I go into panic mode—not a normal side of me; I guess a tertiary persona, with happy-go-lucky as primary and troublemaker as secondary.

"Calm down; you're probably just paranoid." she says, though I can tell this is getting to her, too.

"Not paranoid: overprotective. You should be too! C'mon, let's go!" I say, slipping into my school uniform.

I rush out and knock on her door. "Nanime? Are you in there?"

No answer.

I turn the doorknob, and find it's locked. "Mom,—"

"Already on it." She pulls out what's called a soul gem, and holds it up to the lock, and I hear a click.

_...Still wish I was able to do that..._

_"You still can."_

_Goddammit Kyuubey; don't come to me with that BS right now! This is a family crisis!_

_"Is that so?"_

_...You know something, don't you?_

_"I don't know the full story. Why don't you ask her yourself? She's at the video game store."_

_"Excuse me?'" _My mom butts into the conversation.

_"I said—"_

_"Don't repeat it.'" _she interrupts.

"Let's go."

When we arrive, Nanime's nowhere in sight, but my mom looks directly at her soul gem.

"In here." she directs, raising it. I see something glow, and she pulls me into it.

What's inside is surreal. It's a desert, with numerous dust-devils peppering the area. The ground is tan, but there are blood-red areas throughout. There's a giant crater out in the distance, and the ground is crumbling in places.

But the weirdest, and probably the most unnerving part, is that the sky is blood-red too.

A part of me is excited.

Another, terrified.

There's only one way a place could exist like this.

This is...a witch's labyrinth.

Nevertheless, I'm going to check with Mom.

"Is this...what I think it is?"

She suits up into her Puella Magi uniform (a rather lewd uniform, I suppose). It's almost like one of those fetish items; a Santa costume, except the same shade of purple our hair is. Equipped with black boots, a hairpin with her soul gem on it, and her trusty yo-yo, she's a sight to behold. It's almost incredulous that she could use such as a weapon, but it's equipped to fit her needs with magic, I guess. I've never really seen her in action, so I don't quite know her abilities.

"Yes, Kyousuke. It's exactly as you think." she says, barely audible.

I gulp.

_"Alright Kyuubey, where's my daughter?'" _my mother asks; the edge heavy in her voice.

He appears seemingly out of nowhere, pads up to me and hops on my shoulder. _"I believe she's—"_

He's interrupted by a blood-curdling scream.

"Allons y."_ 'Let's go_' in French, just because she can.

She breaks into a run, and I do the same, catching up to her quickly. We're moving in the direction of the closest whirlwind, and when we're close enough, we see a faint silhouette of someone inside one trying to get out. She leaps into the air and flips, bringing the yo-yo down with her. It glows and splits into five ones, and attack the tornado. When it hits, I hear a harsh screech, and the whirlwind dissipates to a skeletal raptor, and it charges at me. I leap to the side, and my mother unleashes a purple hell upon that...thing.

"Get Nanime and go! Now!"

I rush to her and she's sitting down with a vacant look in her eyes.

"Nanime! Nanime! Are you okay?" I ask, practically yelling in her face.

Her only reaction is a shudder.

_"SCREECH!"_ Another whirlwind fades, and another raptor charges at me.

I move away from Nanime, trying to get it to see me rather than her. It doesn't look like she could do much against it right now.

But, it changes direction, and heads straight at her.

_Fuck._

I rush over to her, but it's coming up with some serious speed.

_I'm not fast enough to get there and move her, and I can't leave her there to to get attacked..._

"I'm _not_ going to like this." I whisper, and activate a last burst of speed.

_Shik!_

It's claws pierce through my stomach. I gasp. Kyuubey even appears to show a little surprise.

_Motherf***er. This is not how I wanted to die. I guess it's okay though. I'll die for a good cause._

But, I guess I've woken up Nanime, as she's screaming now.

"Kyousuke! Kyousuke!"

My legs start to give out. I make sure I fall forward; pinning it down underneath me. Then I cough up a little blood on its skeletal snout for good measure.

Finally, my senses start to dull, first my hearing, then my sight starts to go tunnel-y. There's a light at the end that looks plenty inviting, but I fight it for as long as I can before I feel myself leave.


	3. Chapter 3: Revival

**A/N: Okay, I may have flopped up last chapter. It was only 1,589 words, so...yeah. Flopped up is a decent way to put it. I didn't expect it to go that way, but it did. I also may have screwed up the classroom number—Kyousuke's in the same class as Madoka and friends. And, of course, this story is FAR from over.**

**Chapter 3: Premonition**

* * *

I bolt upright, waking up from a very lucid dream—excuse me—nightmare. There were...dust devils, and... dinosaurs and a barren desert and...I was killed. It felt unreal—I mean_ too_ real. It was extremely painful...but what if it wasn't a dream?

Nah, my imagination probably has just been working overtime.

My mom walks in, with a large grin on her face. "Good morning! Breakfast is on the table!" She says cheerily. She comes over and hugs me, then leaves the room.

_Weird. She didn't try to crush my ribs...Oh, whatever._

I get dressed in my school uniform, and, while looking through my closet, see one with a sloppily sewed patch on it.

_More weird._

I look at myself in the mirror, just looking for anything unusual, and I see a discoloration on my abdomen. I scrutinize it and see it's actually in the shape of a cross.

_Third times the charm...what's going on?_

_Meh, I'll worry about it later._

I walk out of the bathroom and into a delightfully smelling kitchen.

Is that...bacon?

_Oh hell yes!_

"Oh. My. Gosh! This smells amazing!" I say in awe, and start devouring my food.

I'm finished within two minutes.

"Did you even _taste_ the food?" Says Nanime, walking into the room with Mom.

"Why of course I did. Who's the chef who's food I was given the honor to consume?"

"Nanime! Turns out she's a great cook!" my mom beams, hugging her against her.

"Oh. Then it wasn't that good." I say, turning away condescendingly.

She almost pouts. "This is why we don't get along, Mom."

"Yeah, yeah. Hurry to school now; you only have fifteen minutes until it starts!" She says, looking at her watch.

Nanime and I exchange a glance.

We have our stuff, hug Mom, and are out the door in ten seconds. We get onto our bikes and rush there, making it in half the time. Nanime heads to class 1-B, and I head to class 2-C. I enter the classroom and notice something's amiss immediately. Besides the fact that Kamijou Kyousuke is still not in class—I still haven't gotten used to his absence—there's a new kid. A girl, with dark hair and purple eyes.

_Four oddities today, hmm? Why do I feel like I should know her?_

"Oh, Kyou-kun! You're back!" Nakazawa Hideki exclaims. I take my seat beside my best friend, aside from Kyousuke. His vacant seat is right beside mine, and I think Saotome-sensei did that on purpose. She might of heard of our reputation. Hideki is gifted in literature, I'm the artist, and Kyousuke is the musical prodigy. We're simply known as the Prodigies. Nothing fancy, and not a name we gave ourselves. It just...happened.

"Yeah, I'm back." I confirm.

"What happened yesterday? Why weren't you here?" He asks, curious. But it's a stupid question; I told everyone that cared why I was gone.

"I was at a funeral, remember?" I say.

"Yeah, I know that; but you were absent yesterday, too." he says, as if I'm the one at fault.

"Wait, what day is it?"

"Wednesday."

I feel myself pale.

I left for the flight to Oregon on Saturday, the funeral was on Sunday, and arrived at home Monday night.

Which means...

_That nightmare wasn't just a nightmare._

"Hey, Kyou, are you alright?" he asks.

"Yeah. I'm okay." I recover from the shock. "Who's the new girl?"

He blushes at that. "That's Akemi Homura. She just came here yesterday from being in the hospital with a heart condition, though she seems fine now. Though she seems considerably tied to Kaname-san and Miki-san."

Kaname Madoka and Miki Sayaka. The cute naive and the tomboyish fool. They're pretty likable people, and are best friends, along with Shizuki Hitomi. But I can't help but think that they're both very important. Madoka especially.

"Well then. Anything trivial about her I should know?" I ask.

"She broke the record for the 50 meter dash, she's a bit stuck up and cold to most people, and I haven't seen her without a ring and a weird emblem on her middle finger.

Now, I don't care about anything except the ring and the emblem. She sounds curiously like a Puella Magi. I also think she might be important to something too.

Just then, Saotome-sensei storms into the room.

"Alright class, take your seats; I have a few announcements to make." She commands, and we obey. As small as she is, she can be scary. Very scary.

"If someone asks you for their eggs sunny-side up, do you prefer them hard or soft? Hmm, Nakazawa-kun?" She asks, pointing her "teacher stick" at Hideki.

He blushes furiously. "Uh, I really don't mind it either way."

Here comes the speculation. Some students think that Hideki is the mystery man she's always talking about, some think he's the mystery man's son, and some think he just looks like some of the men she dates. It's really quite interesting; seeing him getting picked on by her.

"You sure you're not dating her?" I whisper to him, just to mess with him.

He blushes even worse than earlier.

I chuckle, looking forward to today, but I feel someone looking at me. I turn my head and see Akemi-san staring at me curiously. When she notices, she turns away and focuses on the lesson, and I do the same.

* * *

_Another interesting school day. I swear the weirdest people attend this school._

I was having my soul searched all day today by that Homura chick, and it was sort of disturbing me.

I walk by a group of seniors on my way out.

"...I told him to stop because Masaru was _this_ close to losing his head..."

I shudder at that. Not because I know how mad he can get; I barely know him. But I felt a sort of...premonition. Like someone was going to literally _lose their head_.

Now _this_ is probably just my overactive imagination.

While engrossed in my thoughts, I bump into Akemi-san. Literally.

"Huh?" I mutter, not quite back in reality.

"Oh, it's you." she says, standing up.

"Yeah...sorry about that..." I say, running my fingers through my hair.

She looks me over head-to-toe, for whatever reason, and I start to get nervous.

So I walk over beside her.

"Alright, you've scrutinized me enough. Do you have a problem with me? Or am I a person of interest?" I see something flash in the sunlight. Looking down I see a ring on her middle finger, as well as an emblem on that finger's nail.

"So you're a Puella Magi."

She seems taken aback by this, but regains her indifferent posture. "Yes, I am. So I would advise against irritating me."

"I'm not scared of you. I've no reason to fear; you don't look like the type to murder someone out of annoyance."

"I'll change my personality to fit my objectives."

I almost laugh. "You lack a moral compass."

She shrugs. "It's become obsolete."

I pause for a moment, then decide on an answer. "Ain't that the truth." Then I walk off after sensing Kyuubey summoning me.

_"Help me!"_

_Yeah yeah, okay._

"What are you?" I hear her mutter.

* * *

"I have _got_ to be hallucinating." Sayaka says in disbelief.

"Crap crap crap crap crap!" I yell, because we're in a horrible situation. We're in a witch's labyrinth that looks almost like a huge rose garden, though it's stylized as a cut-and-paste collage. We're surrounded by many mustachioed balls of fluff armed with scissors. They're speaking something that sounds like German, and they're speaking it very creepily. I'm glad I don't speak it.

"You guys are seeing this too, right?" Madoka says, shaking in fear.

_"Yes, Kaname Madoka. We do. Though there may be a way to get out of this situation." _Kyuubey says, being carried in her arms. He summoned Madoka and I, asking us to help him. As if he needed it; he's as immortal as you can get. Anyway, Madoka went, and Sayaka tagged along, and we met here.

"Just no, Kyuubey. I can deal with this." I say, surveying the scene for any attack form the evil cotton balls.

_"I doubt that. I'm sure this will be a lot simpler if—"_

"Shut it, furball." I say through gritted teeth.

"Wait a minute Kyou; what is he talking about?" Sayaka asks at this inopportune time. Can't she see I'm trying to focus?

"Later, Sayaka. Later."

Just then two of them charge at me.

One pair of scissors directed at my legs; the other at my neck.

I step to the side, wrest the uppermost pair from it, spin and cut off its legs. I thrust the shears into the grounded one, pick it up with them, and ram it into the other one.

Pulling the shears out of them, I notice two more advancing on Sayaka and Madoka. Sayaka sprays them both in the face with her trusty fire extinguisher, and I use the time to get behind them and slash the both across their backs.

Four down, six to go.

A lot of flying mustachioed things come from all directions, trapping us again.

Let's add that to our list of problems.

They all charge simultaneously.

I ready myself to defend with all I've got.

Sayaka readies her fire extinguisher, the fear clear on her face.

Madoka cries quietly between us.

_Dammit!_

Then every thing goes black-and-white, and I hear a multitude of gunshots.


	4. Chapter 4: Wonders of the Tea Party p1

**A/N: 1,731 words last chapter. Still pathetic for my usual, but I feel accomplished nevertheless. I normally get a mental block when trying to put ideas on paper, but I guess it's time for me to stop complaining about my work. I'm going to stop listing content-related complaints in the A/Ns, because I know none of you really care. Anyway, I have great honor in introducing the pastry-making Puella Magi extraordinaire, Tomoe Mami!**

**Chapter 4: the Wonders of the Tea Party, Part One**

* * *

Everything is frozen except myself. The world is this monochromatic black-and-white. Sayaka, Madoka, and Kyuubey too.

_Is this the fifth or sixth odd occurrence today? Because this is the weirdest._

I'll worry about it later. Right now I have uncomfortably close familiars all around me. So I carve a path back the way we came and carry Sayaka and Madoka through there.

Turns out they're lighter than I give them credit for.

I contemplate bringing Kyuubey too, but the secretive bastard probably deserves what's coming to him. I place him in the center of the mass, and walk out.

And there I find a surprised Homura.

"Wha—" she begins, and is drowned out by the sound of many familiars colliding with one another and Kyuubey. Many just fall and hit the ground due to the bullets probably fired by the smoking AK-47 Homura is carrying.

"How did you resist my time-stop ability?" she asks in awe.

"I dunno. But it saved us, so thanks." I say tentatively, not exactly comfortable around her.

"You're welcome, I guess." she says. She starts looking around, but freezes as she hears Madoka's voice.

"Kyuubey! Kyuubey! Where'd you go?" Madoka yells, searching frantically for him.

"My fire extinguisher! Where'd it go? I was really fond of that thing..." Sayaka says.

I run my fingers through my hair. "Ah, I may have left them in there. Sorry."

"Really? How could you do that? He was an innocent little...ah...thing!" Madoka exclaims, still somewhat crying.

_I wouldn't be so sure of that..._

"Trust me, he'll be okay, no matter what you want to happen." Homura says grimly, speaking to Madoka but looking at me wearily.

By now the familiars must have noticed we weren't in the middle of their maelström, because the still living ones are all turned to us. They include 3 marshmallow fluffs and around 10 of those flying...things.

I flip my shears so I'm holding them closed backhand. I turn toward them and hear a gunshot, but it seems to come from the side opposite of Homura.

Large breasts...impossibly loopy yellow hair...gold eyes...it can be no other than Tomoe Mami. The most polite person I know aside from Madoka, and the best pastry maker of all time is here to help us.

_Focus on the enemy, not Mami. You don't want to get in trouble._

"Hi Mami-senpai! How's it going?" I call over, unable to stop myself.

"Keishoutto-san?"

"Yeah!"

"You two can talk later!" Sayaka yells, apparently still shaken by a crisis that still hasn't been averted.

_Fine. Well, maybe I have something that'll make this easier for me..._

My belt!

I take it off and fasten it around the handle of the scissors, extending my range a bit.

_Oh hell yeah!_

I charge at the familiars with a fury I didn't know I was capable of.

I eviscerate two of the fluffs with a flurry of attacks, cutting each in three, but I'm thrown off-balance. I end up crouched when I regain it, and Homura uses my back to boost her upwards as she shoots radially, killing off four of those flying thingies. Mami summons musket after musket, hitting 6 out of 6 of the same that rushed her. The last familiar, a puff-ball, charges at me, so I sweep its legs from under it and, with the momentum from the kick, I spin and fall, cutting it in two.

"The witch is close. I'm sure of it." Homura says, inserting a new clip in her gun.

"Then let's take care of her. Better now than later." Mami says, brushing herself off.

"Agreed."

"Then I'll escort these two out." I say, putting my belt back on.

"Okay. How about we stop for tea at my place later?" Mami suggests hopefully.

_Does anyone here have their priorities straight?_

"Sure!" Sayaka practically yells.

"Okay." Madoka says, still shaken.

I stay silent. I'm not sure if I'm welcome. You know, because I'm a dude. I'll get either uncomfortable, in trouble, be utterly confused, or booted out.

"Keishoutto-san? Is something wrong?" Mami asks.

"Nothing. Nothing. I just didn't really think I was welcome..." I say nervously.

"Of course you're welcome! What would make you think otherwise?" Madoka asks.

"Er...can we talk about this later? You've got a witch to deal with, right?" I start to walk away. "C'mon Sayaka, Madoka. Let's get out of here; we'll see them soon.

I look back to see Sayaka picking up her fire extinguisher.

"I can't believe it! It's still intact!" Sayaka squeals with joy. Then she walks over to me.

"Alright then, I guess we're ready to go." She walks off in front of me.

I sigh, then follow on.

I never dropped the shears, so I start twirling it, making sure to keep my distance from the girls. We don't need any mishaps.

"Hey, ah, Kyou-san?" Madoka stops walking, so I stop twirling the scissors.

"Yes, Madoka?"

"I just want to thank you. For back there. If you hadn't taken charge, we would have—" Madoka shows her gratitude, but I stop her. I really don't need this.

"There's no need to thank me. I couldn't just stand by and watch. And that wasn't all me; if Mami and Homura hadn't been there, we wouldn't have made it."

"I know. But it takes a lot to step up. I wasn't able to do anything; I don't think I ever could..." she sniffs, I guess not entirely recovered.

"Okay, now, you know that's not true. You can do anything you put your mind to. Heck, I get the notion that you are going to use that bravery inside there soon." I say, pointing very carefully at her bosom, trying my hardest not to come off as a pervert.

_"You don't know how right that could be."_

I sigh. I have a feeling that I don't want to hear what he has to say.

We walk a little farther at the same pace, then she speeds up to catch up with Sayaka.

_How am I right about that, Kyuubey?_

_"I feel a potential in her that rivals even the most powerful gods. She could very well be the strongest Puella Magi to exist."_

When he says that, I fall to my knees. An intense wave of nausea hits me, and I see the image of an immense black mass extending out into the sky, parts of it splitting off and spider-webbing across the sky. Then the vision changes, and all I see is a barren wasteland, littered with the horribly maimed or the dead. Bodies, missing parts, the ground sprinkled with entrails and blood. Derelict buildings are few—most are in complete ruin. One such building is covered completely in blood and viscera. The few survivors are being smitten by black angels; they're angelic, all right, but a grim atmosphere surrounds them. They nail most of the survivors to crosses, leaving them to die afterward; there are many of the same placed randomly about The center of the mass is the same dark mass I saw before, though it's not at all what I expected. She—it—is nearly identical to Madoka, though with a fang protruding from her mouth, black hair, and the eyes to match. She wears a dress with the bottom part of it split, the tails extending seemingly endlessly across the ground. She's reclining in a throne consisting of pearly white...something. She's giggling madly at the scene, twirling one of the pink ribbons in her hair, one that looks like the one Madoka always wears in her own hair. Lying in front of her is the body of her, seemingly untouched, except that she's deprived of her ribbons.

I retch, though Sayaka and Madoka don't notice; they're far out of earshot by now.

I start hyperventilating , disgusted and in awe of the scenario.

_Was that...a witch?_

_When is this supposed to be?_

_Why was Madoka the only thing unscathed?_

These questions revolve in my head, giving me no break from my meltdown.

I try to stand, but I get some massive vertigo on the way up, making me completely lose my footing, and nearly fall on my face. I turn my shoulder at the last second, landing painfully on it and rolling on my back.

_What the heck! Kyuubey, did you do this?_

_"To what are you referring to?"_

_These...these...visions I'm having, my nausea, all of it! Did you do it?_

_"Though I possess the ability necessary to project images into another's conscious, I did not do that. And I have no such abilities pertaining to vertigo that can affect humans."_

_Good to know. _I groan as I rise, the nausea finally taking its leave. I turn my head to look at the space-ferret that hopped on my shoulder._ That went in the vault, just so you know._

_"Okay."_

I heave a sigh, and walk on, making sure to stay close to the wall.

* * *

"Where were you? You had us worried sick!" Sayaka yells, clutching her briefcase over her shoulder.

That question earned her a sigh.

_Speaking the truth would spark too much tension and raise too many questions..._

"Ah, I just saw a friend of mine, so I stopped to talk to him." I tell her.

She pauses for a moment, then looks me straight in my eyes. "In the maintenance area...of the mall? You stopped to talk to a friend who was dwelling in the maintenance area of the mall?" she asks, the skepticism heavy in her voice.

"Yeah...quite the coincidence, isn't it?" I run my hand through my hair.

She gives me a droll stare. "Uh-huh. You expect me to believe that?"

"Yeah...we all know Hajime does some questionable things." I say matter-of-factly, effectively murdering her argument.

"Good point. Well," Sayaka points to a door, "here's her apartment. Should we go in or wait here?"

Madoka and Sayaka both vote to go.

"I guess I'll go in with you. There's no telling what damage Sayaka'll do in there." I say playfully to Madoka.

"W-what? Sayaka isn't _that_ bad. At least, I don't think so." Madoka says uncertainly.

Sayaka walks in like she owns the place; I doubt she even heard us.

"Oh. My. God. Look at this place! It's so...artsy! Asymmetrical and such! It's amazing. Oh~, look at all this fine china!" Sayaka exclaims, darting from place to place with an attention span that makes the ADD diagnosed seem focused.

"Sayaka, don't touch that!"

"Sayaka, stop!"

"Sayaka, get away from there!"

We use each of those phrases countless times until we finally give up trying to stop her.

"Kyou-san, Madoka! Come look at this!" she calls from somewhere over yonder. We walk over, ready for trouble, but only see something I never dreamed I'd be able to see.

"Is that—" I start, my hormones deciding to make a very powerful appearance.

"Lingerie, yes. Her bra, to be exact. Looks like she's a...C cup. Weird, they look a lot bigger in person." Sayaka says, grinning widely.

"But," she leaves the room for a moment, "here's something that might interest you more."

She holds up some striped panties.

I feel myself start to blush, and my hand starts to move toward them on their own.

_I swear to god, if Mami walks in right now, I'll die._

"Have these been...used?"

"Well~, I did find them in a clothes hamper in the bathroom..." Sayaka says .

_Oh. My. God. This is too good to be true._

I start to hold them up to my nose, with Madoka staring at me in horror, and Sayaka with rapt attention, when I hear a door slam.

_Fuck._

I turn around, to see an indifferent Homura and shocked Mami.

"Me and Madoka tried to stop him, but he was determined to do it. We're sorry, we did all we could, didn't we Madoka?" Sayaka says, putting the blame on me and effectively ticking me off.

I turn around to see her arm around Madoka, looking all innocent. I glare at her, and silently vow to give her hell for as long as I see fit.

I drop the yellow-and-white striped panties and step away from them."This is not what it looks like." I say nervously, afraid I am going to get shot.

"Yeah, it definitely is—shoot him, not me." She says, apparently having the same fear.

"No it's not! She was snooping through your stuff and pulled it out of your bathroom!" I yell, trying to justify my part here.

"You were the one who was going to sniff them! This is on you!" Sayaka argues, making me look like the perpetrator.

"If you hadn't lost control and started rummaging through her stuff, none of this would've happened!" I counter, shifting the tides a bit in my favor.

"You two, stop it! You're doing nothing but making both of yourselves look bad. I'll let...ah..."

"Kaname Madoka." Madoka introduces herself, bowing formally.

"Right. Kaname-san tell the story." Mami finishes, stopping our argument in its tracks.

"Eh? Um...okay, well..." Madoka tells this short little story with much stuttering, and Mami makes a decision.

"Well, you're both in the wrong, so here's your punishment: no cake for the both of you."

In the silence that followed, you'd think we all died. Madoka looks bewildered at all of us, Homura raises an eyebrow in amusement, and Mami walks into her kitchen, probably preparing some tea.

B-b-but...I want some cake!" Sayaka complains.

"You shouldn't have messed with my stuff. Could you please put those back in the clothes hamper?" she calls from the kitchen.

"Fine." she mutters, and moves to put them back.

_"I have returned."_

_I swear to god, if I see you again today, I'm going to go ape shit._

_"The only thing you will accomplish doing that will be exhaustion. I would advise against it."_

I sigh.

_It's really aggravating how right you are sometimes._

_"I'll never understand why one being's correctness would make a human so irate."_

"Pfft, you wouldn't be able to understand us even if you wanted to." I whisper both internally and externally.

_"I infer you don't want a reply to that."_

_No. Not at all._

Mami calls all of us over, and the four of them kneel down at the table, so I just get my tea and seat myself in a recliner. Mami gets up and pours what looks like cat food into a dish, and Kyuubey pads over to eat it.

Sipping my tea, I tune in to bits and pieces of their conversations.

"This is a soul gem." Mami holds up her right hand, and the ring on her middle finger transforms with a flash into a golden-colored soul gem.

"You get it whenever you contract with Kyuubey, though I advise against it." Homura says, I guess the two veterans tag-teaming to teach them.

They say a bunch of other stuff relating to witches and gems and magical girls and grief seeds, and the whole time I feel tension rising between Homura and Mami.

_"I think that a conflict is brewing between those two."_

I look down and chuckle.

_For once we actually think alike._

Mami and Homura stand up abruptly.

"Why are you spreading lies to them?" Mami asks angrily, flashing into her Puella Magi getup.

"I'm speaking the truth. If they're going to get involved, they might as well know the whole story." Homura responds nonchalantly, though with the same authority. She, surprisingly, doesn't morph.

I decide to step in. I walk in between them, invading both of their comfort zones. They both step back.

"Now, now, we don't need this, especially in a small apartment with mundanes in it. We're practically defenseless compared to you two." I preach logic to the two of them, feeling accomplished in averting this crisis.

"Please get out of my residence. Now." Mami whispers. Because I'm facing her, I take it as she's talking to me.

"Gladly." Homura says, walking with the swagger of a person who didn't just get booted out of someone's apartment.

_Told you I'd get booted out._ I follow along behind Homura.

Just as I close the door, I hear someone call my name.

_I'll just pretend I didn't hear that._

After a lengthy bout of silence, I decide to break it. "So...how are you enjoying our school?"

"I don't have time for small talk." she states bluntly.

"Hostile much?" I mutter.

As we exit the apartment complex, she morphs into her Puella Magi costume and stops time. She looks at me curiously over her shoulder, and sees I'm still moving.

"Interesting." I hear her whisper.

I step to the side. "Please stop staring at me. It's making me feel uncomfortable."

She makes no sign that she heard me, but she starts walking abruptly to the right. I follow just because, and see a frozen gang of people surrounding someone, all guns trained on whoever is in the center. I see Homura pull out a gun and I feel my stomach drop.

"No no no no no! No killing, at least."

She looks at me disbelievingly. "You're defending this trash? Why? Their lowlifes, scumbags, unworthy of the earth they tread upon. I'm doing everyone a favor."

"Look, I don't care what favors you think you're doing. They're people too. Lives are too few to just throw them away like that. If you can't just leave them alone, then the least you can do is not kill them. Shoot them somewhere not immediately lethal or something."

She doesn't respond, but I see her aim at arms and legs only. Then she muscles her way through the mass and comes out with...

Nanime.

"Never mind, you can kill them."

She ignores that too and carries my sister out of the alleyway.

Homura starts time again, and Nanime does the unexpected.

She morphs into a Puella Magi outfit.

_What. The fuck._


	5. Chapter 5: Soulless

**A/N: Waaahhh~ that last one took way longer than expected! Oh well. School will give you hell regardless of what you're doing****. Anyway, I think someone might need some anger management...**

**Chapter 5: Soulless**

* * *

"And when were you going to tell me about this?" I rage, nearly blinded by anger. Why would she do this?

"What's it matter? We were never close; why do you care?" She circumvents my question with her own.

"I'm your brother—plain and simple. You can't just expect me not to care; we share the same blood."

"Well I guess now would be a good time to tell you...I became a Puella Magi." she says, a smug look on her face.

"You don't know how much it took for me not to give you a beat down, right then and there." I glower at her, clenching and releasing my fists.

"There's no excuse for domestic violence." Nanime says pointedly.

I snap. "Challenge accepted." I charge at her, and I think she takes this a chance to use her newly gained powers. She transforms into a costume that makes her look like a magician. She wears your traditional top hat, with what resembles a turquoise one-piece bathing suit. She has a very tight purple blazer over it exposing only her groin and an exaggerated tail, with a triangle exposing her back in the blazer and the swimsuit. She has turquoise gloves and boots, and a choker with a clear jewel on it.

I run at her, and she reaches in and pulls a legitimate magic wand out of her hat. She waves the wand at me, and I feel something tighten on my legs, and I topple to the ground. I look down and see a chain around my legs, with a padlock securing it.

_Really? This is awfully Houdini-ish..._

Nanime reaches down to tap me with her wand, so I kick my legs and she drops it. It rolls beside me and I pick it up.

Though, instead of her having a negative reaction, she reaches into her hat, and I find myself grasping nothing.

_What the crap._

She points another wand at me, or the same one, I dunno. I just know I'm about to get magicked.

_Hmm...I wonder if Homura is done looting those bastards..._

_Time for threats!_

"If you keep this up I'm going to kill you in your sleep."

"I'll remove your hands."

I shudder. _At least not my right hand. Please?_

"Mom's gonna kill you if you do."

"I'll just turn her into a frog or something."

_Okay...that didn't work...distractions, distractions..._

"Wait a minute, what color is your soul gem? I don't see it anywhere on your costume."

Nanime takes the bait.

"Well..." she powers down, and the chains disappear. The gem appears in her hand. "It's, ah, clear."

I get up and scrutinize her gem. She's right—you can see right through it. _Clear...clear...I hope that's normal._

"Did you ask Kyuubey about it?" I wonder.

"He didn't provide a straight answer. In fact, he was just as puzzled as I am. He said he'd let me know why later." she explains.

_So...not normal...I hope it's nothing serious._

_But I can't afford to think that it's trivial if it deals with her soul._

"If he withholds this information I'm going to hurt him." I declare.

"I'll do even worse." She leaves just what 'worse' is to my imagination.

_I hope she doesn't abuse her power at home._

I walk back into the alleyway where Homura should be looting the men and women who attacked Nanime. She's just taking their guns, ammo, and I think their wallets.

"Oi, Homura! Are you done yet?" I call out.

"You don't have to yell; I'm right here." She says, inserting one last gun into her shield.

Actually, she taps it against the shield and it vanishes.

"Whoa. What I would give to do that..." I mutter inwardly.

_"Well—" _Kyuubey alerts me of his presence from behind.

I put on the most sinister grin I can.

I turn around, wind up, and punt Kyuubey as far as I can. I watch his arc until I can't see him.

I turn to Homura and Nanime. "And that is how you punt a space-ferret a kilometer."

Nanime just looks at me with an amused expression, and I think I see the beginnings of a smile on Homura's face.

_"I hope you know you won't achieve anything by kicking me."_

"How the crap did you get here so fast? I punted you a friggin' kilometer!" I yell at Kyuubey, aggravated he got back so fast.

_"In truth, it was 117 meters, 13 centimeters and 4 millimeters. An impressive feat for a human."_

_I was way off..._

_But it was awesome anyway! 117 meters? You're a freaking superhero now!_

"As awesome as that was, it doesn't answer my question."

_"It's simple, really. I ran."_

_Well don't I feel stupid._

"But that's still really fast! Did you move at warp speed or something?"

_"Not exactly. I have an ability akin to warp travel, though. It works almost like—"_

I shake my head. "As much as I'd like to hear your explanation, just don't explain. Not right now, anyway. My brain is still fried from school."

_"Okay, later."_

"What are you here for, Kyuubey?" Homura asks, practically spitting his name.

_"To inform those two of my findings."_

"Findings? Of what?" I wonder.

_"Of the deformities of that one's soul gem."_ He motions to Nanime with his ears.

"You didn't refer to them as 'deformities' earlier." Nanime observes.

_"Maybe 'deformities' wasn't the best word. More like 'abnormalities'."_

I chuckle. "There's a first. The great Kyuubey didn't choose his words carefully."

_"Nobody's perfect."_

"As true as that is, the phrase has lost its power." I say.

_"No it hasn't."_ he says matter-of-factly.

"So this one is a Puella Magi?" Homura motions to Nanime.

"Yeah, I am. You got a problem with it?" Nanime challenges.

"Not at the moment. Just don't get in my way." Homura says arrogantly.

"Why you little..." Nanime starts, then I walk in between the both of them.

_Homura's lack of social skills is unnerving. Was she in solitary confinement her whole life?_

"Now now, girls, do you want to hear what Kyuubey found out or not?"

They both step back and seem to calm down.

_Crisis __averted! You gain 437 experience points._

_Level up! You are now level 15. Strength increased by 3, Focus increased by 1, Defense increased by 4, Speed increased by 5, and Charisma increased by 17,000,000._

_You have acquired the ability: Republican Press Conference._

_Goddammit!_

"Alright Kyuubey, lay it on us."

_"Well, as I noticed when I contracted her yesterday, I didn't put her soul in her soul gem. In fact, there was no soul to begin with."_

It's deathly silent for a few moments.

"That was blunt." I mutter.

"That's not possible. If there's no soul, then she shouldn't exist." Homura says, a shocked expression on her face.

_"That's what I thought as well, until this happened."_

"Then what's in my soul gem?" Nanime asks, a similar expression on her face.

_"Well, I believe I put your very existence in your soul gem. That was the closest thing to link it too."_

"So you're telling me her very existence is in that little egg?" I ask, just to clear this up.

_"It seems so."_

Nanime is now staring intently at her soul gem.

"...So what happens if my soul gem breaks?" Nanime asks, still staring at it.

_"Well, in theory, you will be completely wiped out of existence. Everything you've physically affected will either disappear or revert to its original form, and all memories of you will also be blanked."_

"Well this is first-degree crap." I say, contemplating punting Kyuubey again to just stop it. Stop hearing this horrible fate that's fallen upon my sister. It's unfair really, and it's just not possible. It doesn't make sense.

_"There is a good side to this, though. She as a whole is the physical embodiment of a miracle. Because Puella Magi are hope, dreams, and miracles, this would make her one of the strongest Puella Magi to exist. Her strength surpasses that of even the Lady of Orléans: Joan of Arc."_

"Okay, so that's not that bad; Nanime just has to be careful."

_"But—"_

"Oh my god, Kyuubey, if there's more bad news you should have given it all to us at one time!" I yell at him, exasperation creeping in.

_"The fact that she lacks a soul could also give rise to a pressing matter for every Puella Magi in this city. If there's just a shred of negativity in her soul gem, she could reach critical and turn immediately. Because of her nature, the witch she gives rise to would be akin to what Puella Magi refer to as a Walpurgis Nacht."_

More silence.

_So magical girls turn into witches...and Walpurgis Nacht sounds like the godfather of all witches. Or godmother. Whatever. All I know is that we're screwed. Especially if the witch is as temperamental as Nanime..._

"You figured this all out in one day?" I ask skeptically.

_"I have a lot of time on my hands."_

"You mean paws." A sorry attempt at humor to lighten the mood.

I turn to Nanime to tell her it's time to go home, and see Homura with a gun to Nanime's temple.

In fact, the world is back in that monochromatic black-and-white.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing?" I yell at her.

She doesn't seem to hear me.

"This is the one that's been causing me so many problems. Here is the end of my quest; where there can be a happy ending." Homura mutters, eyes clouded.

"It's not a happy ending for me! Tell you what, I'll make you a deal." I say, trying to reason my way into saving Nanime's life.

"...State your deal."

"You can kill her...when she goes critical, not a second before."

"Fine." She puts the gun away and time resumes.

_Crisis averted!_

"I think it's about time we went home. We may be a bit late; we don't want to worry Mom." I lie. I'm just getting a bit uncomfortable. In all likeliness, Mom is not going to get home until around nine o'clock, and it's only six right now.

"I guess you're right. I'll see you guys...whenever." Nanime says, and just walks off.

I walk in the opposite direction for sake of giving her some breathing room. This came has to have been a serious blow to her. Finding out you lack a soul sort of _sucks_, just in my opinion. I think the best thing for anyone in this situation would be to just think. I'm just going to hope some random god that she doesn't get in trouble.

"I recommend leaving Nanime alone for the time being. She needs some time to rest." I warn them. Not that I really care what happens to them; I'm just saying that to be able to say later 'I gave you fair warning'.

_I hope my bike hasn't been stolen...I know its broad daylight and it's in a public place like the mall, but I don't think I locked it up thoroughly._

On that note, I decide to sprint to the mall.

* * *

Once I get there, I go to the bike rack and see...

My bike is safe.

_Oh yeah! Lady Luck is sort of on my side today!_

I pull the open lock off my bike and mount it, then go for a ride around town. I have time to kill, and I have nothing to do at home except watch TV, listen to music, or play Tekken Tag Tournament 2 on my Xbox 360. None of which I want to do.

My evening rides (which I dub 'Reveres', after, you know—Paul Revere), are my own way of policing Mitakihara. Well, more like watch what happens in each section of the town. I sort of keep up to date with local news this way, because the news is all gossip these days. This is an actually pretty effective way to get the news. In fact, I end up knowing things a day or two before anyone else.

_I wonder what's going on at the WG—the Wannabe Ghetto._

I swear that place is full of Asians idolizing black people in American action movies, and they do a sorry job of it. For example, Hajime—the friend I used in my lie to Sayaka—is a Wannabe. Things are always interesting here, because they do stuff even true black people don't do. (No example here, for lack of one.)

I ride right through the main road (because I'm not stupid) and see a sort of Mexican standoff going on. Four kids. One armed with dual Beretta 92fs, one with an M16, one with an ACR, and one with what's probably an AK-103.

_How are they holding them steady? None of them can be any older than 7!_

I come to a stop, and slowly back up. It seems only the kid with the Berettas noticed me, but I don't want to bring anymore attention to myself than I already have.

The pistol-toting one says something and—slowly, if I might add—lowers his guns. He points directly to me, and, while they're all looking at me, opens up a can of whip-ass with those firearms that you can only see in the movie _Equilibrium_.

"Ey, you! Come here!"

I let out a very loud gulp.

As I back up even more, he yells again.

"If you run, I'll shoot!" he starts waving his guns around like a maniac.

I inch my way forward, so slowly to the point that he just walks up to me.

"My name's Obito, but to everyone 'round here I'm called Dragonfire."

I stick out my hand to him, praying to Bob that I don't get shot.

"Kyou. My name's Kyou. Whaddya want?" I say, not really meaning to use that wording.

His left eye makes the decision to twitch. "You don't know how much willpower it took for me not to shoot you right then and there."

I lower my hand.

And there's silence. I don't trust myself to speak anymore, lest he gets me right between the eyes.

"...Anyway, I wanna thank you. If you hadn't come poking into our business, I probably wouldn't have made it outta there."

"Uh, you're welcome?" I reply uncertainly.

"Yeah, yeah. As thanks, I'm going to give you a card."

"A card?"

"Yeah, a card." He slips his guns into holsters on his sides and pulls a card from his impossibly baggy sleeves. He hands it to me, and the card is the joker face card, except it's him as the joker, the barrels of his guns smoking.

"All ya gotta do is flick it onto the ground and call my name—Dragonfire, just in case ya're confused—and I'll show up as Chekhov's Gunman in a moment's notice! It's good for one use only; you get more by doing favors for me later, if ya wanna. Here's contact information and such; call me if you wanna job!"

I probably look stupid with this dumbstruck expression on my face, but I have no choice; he just bombarded me with some BS I didn't even want to be a part of.

"How old are you to even know this?"

He seems to have to think about it for a second. "...I'm 10. I think."

Eyebrows=raised. "10 years old...just killed 3 people...I'm not going to do anything until you justify that."

"See those insignias on their necks? They were the bad guys. They followed the wrong path and were in turn controlled. I had to stop them before they hurt either me, someone else, or my little sis. Surely you can understand that." On each of their necks there are triangular symbols on their necks that bear resemblance to cyclones.

_He makes a good point...why do those symbols look familiar..._

_"_Okay. I can relate, so...bye."

"Sure, whatever." He walks over to the corpses and starts searching them for whatever.

_...What did I just get into?_

* * *

**A/N: So...just to clear things up, the WG is pronounced 'wee-jee', and for those that don't know what _Equilibrium_, is an awesome movie that includes awesome close range gunfights and such. It's the whole reason the idea of 'Gun Kata' is recognized.**


	6. Chapter 6: RIP Normality

**A/N: I'm back, with some information! Guess what happens (or happened, if you're reading after the date in 2013) on October 26? The release of Part three of the Puella Magi movie-thingy: The Rebellion Story! Now, normally I'd support the release by actually paying for it, but...I'm not because my parents don't want me watching anime. So I'll watch it on whatever streaming website or app I decide to watch it on. All those that can, support the official release! Oh, and readers, I'd like to know if you'd prefer me to call Nakazawa...well...Nakazawa or Hideki. Though feedback won't eliminate all use of the other, I'll try to use it less to reduce the confusion factor, if any.**

**Chapter 6: R.I.P Normality**

* * *

"I'm home!" I call, coming home from school on—oh yeah—Friday. So yeah, it's been two days from my last run-in with weird, thank god. But when I look inside I see two people that aren't supposed to be in my house.

I pull a katana out of its scabbard above the door and immediately take a defensive stance.

"Who're you and what are you doing in my house?"

They look at me like I'm nothing more than a fly, then there's some form of cognition taking place.

"Oh! You must be Kyousuke!" The girl asks me. She has purple hair with orange eyes and is wearing a purple sundress, despite the fact that it's not that warm outside. She is surrounded by this sunshine-and-rainbows aura, and is around Nanime's height. In other words, short.

"...Okay, so you're not hostile." I point at her, then to the other one. "What about him?"

This boy seems to be my age. He has the feature combo as that girl (so siblings? Maybe?) and is wearing a sleeveless orange T-shirt with with a black vest over it. He's also equipped with black cargo pants and combat boots, and gives off an intimidating death-and-sorrow aura.

"Oh, don't worry about him. If you look past the doom-and-gloom, he's a good old teddy bear." she says, emphasizing it by hugging him.

"Don't refer to me with such derogatory terms. Show some respect." he says quietly, though his eyes have a sense of longing in them.

"You're my brother. I don't need to show respect to you." she says cheerily, reaching up to pat his head.

I shudder. _She sounds so much like Nanime..._

"Okay, maybe you don't realize you are _strangers_. In my_ house_. State your business or leave." I say, stating my role as man of the house.

Right then, someone makes a large racket opening the front door.

"I'm home~!" Nanime walks through the door, with company.

"Hey, Kyou-kun."

"Hi, Hideki. Welcome home, Mom." I say, lowering my katana a bit.

"What, I don't get a greeting?" Nanime asks, putting her briefcase down by the stairs. Hideki follows suit.

"Because I didn't want to greet you, that's why."

I see Mr. Anonymous smile a little bit at that comment.

"I see you've met Shitsurei Rin and Emi. With...some...hostility, I see." Mom says, looking at me with a peeved look.

"Oh, don't worry about it! He did a wonderful job; I would do the same if I found strangers in my house." The girl—Emi—says to my mom. It seemed to put my mom at rest, too.

"Well, these two are your half-siblings, and will be living with us until further notice. Isn't that delightful?" Mom announces cheerily to a less-than-agreeing me.

Nanime and I have nothing to say yet, Mom and Emi are grinning like idiots, Rin is watching the scene from the recliner, a just-don't-care expression on his face. Nakazawa looks also looks at the scene, but looks a little uncomfortable.

"Well, that's all fine and dandy, but we barely know them. And if these are our half-siblings, then how come we never heard anything about them?" I ask, activating skeptic mode.

"That's because I never heard much about them myself. Your father didn't talk about them much, only gave updates every once in a while." she explains while tapping her temple.

"Yeah, I don't believe you, but I'll leave it at that." Nanime says to her, apparently sharing the same thoughts.

"Hey, we didn't hear anything about you until last week. Weird, huh?" Emi points out. It didn't really bring anything to light except for the fact that both Mom and Dad hid something from us. But I'll go along with Nanime's word and leave it at that.

Silence. There seems to be an excess of those these days; don't they happen anywhere else?

This time my mom breaks the silence.

"...Anyway, guess who got her paycheck!" She exclaims excitedly, holding up a briefcase. Not the ones us students carry, or what your typical businessman or businesswoman carries, but one with a lock combination. There are six reels, all at 0 at the moment.

"Awfully secure paycheck..." I hear Nakazawa mutter.

She must not have heard him, because she cups her hands around the switch to unlock it and it clicks and opens. What's inside makes everyone's jaws drop.

"Holy crap!" Nanime yells in surprise.

"Whoa." Emi and Nakazawa whisper simultaneously.

"Impressive." Rin says, his voice raised slightly.

I'm just speechless. _How the..._

"Yeah, impressive is right. In here there's about two trillion yen!" she yells at us, shoving the briefcase in each of our faces.

"What did you do, rob Apple?" Nanime asks incredulously. We're all baffled.

"She's right, Mom. Where'd you get it; your job isn't exactly rewarding." I say, and I regretted it as soon as I said it.

Mom's eyebrows raise in question, though I know she heard me. She does that when something takes significant toll on her emotions. Nanime looks down at the ground. And then the probably-not-so unexpected happened as well. Emi looks down to the left, as if she's remembering something sad. Rin's eye twitches ever-so-slightly, and Hideki nostrils flare a little bit.

_Weird..._

Okay, well I understand Mom and Nanime's reaction, and maybe even Emi's. Maybe Puella Magi-ness runs in the family. But Hideki and what's-his-face...uh, Rin's reactions will take a little more sifting through. Maybe it's just Rin having sympathy for his sister, and Hideki has some family member involved. But if that's the case, then I know waaayyyy to many people with connections to this.

Then Hideki sneezes, and Rin rubs his eye—the one that twitched.

"Oh, look!" Emi reaches down and picks up a 500 yen coin.

_How did I not notice that?_

Mom smooths out her eyebrow, and Nanime continues staring at...

I sigh. _Speak of the devil._

_"Hello."_

My best little furry friend has appeared, annoying as ever.

"Okay, how the hell did he get in here? Not one door opened, the the doggy door didn't move, the windows are closed! How?" I question, flabbergasted at how he just _appears_. Really, no announcement, no sound, just _there_.

"Fourteen years with him and you're still affected by that? I thought you could adapt quicker than that." Mom comments to me.

_"You ask some stupid questions, Kyousuke. I was here making small talk with Emi and Rin—in plain sight, if I might add—and you were simply not aware enough to notice me."_ he says, and Emi covers her mouth, sensing the tension that just rose between us.

I have no clever retort to that. All I can do is stand and fume; it takes all of the willpower I have not to snap his cute little neck.

"I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you 10 seconds to get out of the house." Nanime says through gritted teeth.

_"Why? I practically live here."_

"Not today. Leave. You now have six seconds." she says, whipping out her wand.

He says nothing, just sits down in front of me.

"Time's up." She fires something I think was meant for Kyuubey, but hits me square in the chest.

And all of a sudden, smells overwhelm me, my peripheral range of view decreases a bit, my eyesight focuses and the peripheral clears up a bit as well. I start hearing many more sounds then normal. I hear a grinding as I feel my legs reverse direction and my hands into little round...things. A bunch of little hairs start shooting out of my body until I'm completely covered.

I lay in my pile of clothes until I feel I can move without something else popping into place, then sift through my shirt until I can find my way out.

When I look out and see I'm at level with Kyuubey, I almost have a breakdown. I rush up the stairs as quickly as I can, which included a lot of tumbling and tripping, go to the bathroom, hop on the sink, and look in the mirror. What I see makes me want to scream.

"MRRROOOOWWWWW!"

Translation: _What? I'm a friggin' cat!_

* * *

**A/N: Well that was courtesy of lack of ideas, but that has made my train of thought work overtime. Anyway, I have some news. Besides my birthday *cough cough November 9 cough*, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is starting November 1, and my teacher is forcing the class to do it, so the next chapter might not be added until the end of November to early December. I'll try to add it ASAP, but still, that might not be for a while. Oh, and happy Halloween!**


	7. Chapter 7: Another Encounter

**A/N: Woo! I'm alive, refreshed, and...who am I kidding? I'm exhausted, and feel like Homura is going to find me and kill me for what happens in these next one or two chapters, but I guess I'm determined. So let's do this! Iku ze!**

**Chapter 7: Another Encounter**

* * *

_"Sometimes I hate you, Kyuubey."_ I say, the distraught impossible to keep hidden.

_"For what? I didn't cause this."_

_"Technically, you did. And you sat right in front of me." _I argue, more to disguise my sadness than to make a point.

_"It's not my fault your sister's aim is atrocious."_

Valid point, the little smart-aleck.

I pad back into the living room, and Emi practically goes insane.

"Oh my gosh! You are so CUTE!" she comes over and hugs me. Really tight. Like, it rivals the force of my Mom's embraces.

"Um, Yukiko-san? Your son is a cat, just so you know." I manage to hear Ren say through Emi's boobs. Seriously, my head's buried in them; I don't know how I can hear anything.

"Yes, I am aware." In a poor effort to whisper she asks Nanime if she can change me back.

Unfortunately, she said no.

I wriggle my way out of Emi's arms and sit down in front of Nanime.

_"Can you fix this?"_

"I may not have to. I get the feeling it's a temporary thing." she says, looking at me with a certain gleam in her eyes.

I back up a bit. _"__Why are you looking at me like that?"_

"Oh, nothing really. It's just that it feels good to look down at you for a change."

That was a low blow.

I get up to leave, but then I notice Hideki slump to the floor, and Mom standing behind him.

I ask her why she did that, but I realize that Kyuubey isn't here, so the telepathy isn't functioning.

"Mew." This was at a reasonable tone.

No response, she just lays him down on the sofa.

"Meow!" This time more insistent on getting a response.

Still no response, she pulls out her soul gem and holds it next to his face.

"MRRROOOWWW!" Now there's no way in hell she can't hear me.

She snaps her fingers, and everyone else nearly jumps out of their skin.

"Dang, Kyou! You didn't have to do that; we could hear you first time!" Nanime says, massaging her ear. She's probably just being melodramatic, but she doesn't know how close she was right then to having her face turn into a scratching post.

Hideki wakes up, looking around the room with a bewildered expression on his face.

"Oh, you're awake! Are you feeling alright?" Mom inspects him, acting on some plan she might have just made up.

"I feel...okay I guess. But I have a headache, and I feel a bit light-headed. What happened?" I think the 'what happened' thing is a bit clichéd, but there's nothing else to say if you're in such a situation. It's making me a bit angry that Mom's doing this, but that might just be because I have no clue why Mom knocked him out.

"Ah, it all makes sense now. You fainted, and hit your head on the wall on the way down. I think you might just be dehydrated." she explains, carrying out this lie very efficiently.

"Oh...may I have a glass of water?" he asks, and Emi springs into action.

"Sure! One second." she rushes into the kitchen.

_"Hey, Kyou. I get the feeling you want an explanation." _Mom says to me, still keeping up her façade.

_"Uh, yeah. What did you do?"_

As Emi comes back with the water, she continues. _"I actually wiped his mind of these recent events and implanted new ones. Everyone in here I know for sure is involved in Puella Magi business except him, so until we're absolutely certain he's involved or that he's at the very least informed about this, we can't allow anything to slip. Or transform, in your case. I actually approve of him, so I prefer he's not thrown into an insane asylum spouting 'nonsense' about magic to the ignorant public."_

It takes me a bit to process this; she speaks quickly, telepathically and normally.

_"Okay, I get you're reasoning, but he can see Kyuubey. As far as I know, him, Kyousuke, and I are the only one's that can see him. Doesn't that make him involved?"_

This seems to surprise her a bit.

_"He knows?"_

_"I'm not sure if he knows about the Puella Magi, but I know for a fact he can see Kyuubey."_

_"Oh. Okay then. Just to let you know, if you want to talk to any Puella Magi, just reach out to their mind, and they might answer. Just remember that telepathy doesn't work with human's if they're not with Kyuubey."_

_"Alright, thanks Mom. You should send Hideki home; he came here to chill with me, and now I'm...not me. We don't want to waste anymore of his time."_

"Okay, well...I guess I'd better go home then. Thanks for having me."

"No problem, no problem." Mom says, opening the door for him. "Nanime, escort him home. Just to be safe."

"Um...okay."

I decide to tag along for fear of boredom, and walk out of the door with them.

And, much to my disappointment, they barely speak. In the rare occasions that they do speak it's to apologize for bumping into each other.

_Maybe I should have stayed home..._

After an insanely long bout of silence (seriously? Another one?), we arrive at his house. Actually, it's an apartment. He lives alone, because his parents sort of...hate him. But I applaud him on his resilience, he's let none of it get to him. He's still cheery, kind, caring, generous, and every other positive trait I haven't listed.

"Well...thank you for the escort, I guess." he says, opening the door.

"You're welcome." Nanime turns to leave.

"Wait a second. Is this your cat?" he asks her.

_Did he just now notice me?_

"Yeah."

"Oh. Cool! What's its name?"

"Er...Amy. Her name is Amy." she answers, much to my irritation.

"Amy...that's a cool name. Hi, Amy! My name's Hideki." he eases his way over to me and starts petting me. I know I shouldn't, but it feels _amazing. _Without thinking I start purring.

Nanime snickers. "My my, looks like someone's enjoying herself."

Hideki stops and goes into his apartment.

"See ya later." And the door closes.

_"I am _so_ going to give you hell for that."_

"What're you getting mad for? I'm just speaking based on my observations." she says matter-of-factly.

_"Observations?"_ It's then that I notice that I...have no penis.

_"What the FUCK did you do?"_

"Hey now, don't be mad. Like I said, I get the feeling your transformation is just temporary. Enjoy it while you have it."

_"Was there a hidden message there? Because I'm not going to go __around copulating with other cats or those weirdos with cat fetishes."_

"No, no. I didn't mean anything like _that_." she says, a slightly smug tone to her voice.

_"I'm not going to, uh, 'explore' either."_

"Hmph, like you didn't do that before."

I find myself hissing at her, my claws already out. I stop and retract them, mostly because she's bigger than me. If I messed with her right now, she'd probably overpower me immediately. She might turn me into something dreadful, or even worse, make the transformation permanent.

"Well my job is done, so I'm going to go home. You can stay out for a while longer, or come with. I personally don't care." she starts to walk down the steps.

_"I'm going to stay out for a while longer. To get used to being a cat, if I end up remaining as this feline masterpiece for a while."_

"Kaykay. Be safe, I guess."

_"Whatever."_

_Alright, where to go first?_

_..._

_I guess the plaza is as good enough of a place to start._

* * *

"Okay! Thanks for taking us with you, Mami-san!" I say to Mami. We've just returned from one of our Puella Magi sneak peeks. Witch hunts, if you want to call them that. I guess today was more of a 'familiar hunt', we didn't even come across a witch today.

"No problem Kaname-san! Tomorrow then?"

"Sure!"

"Wonderful! See you then!"

"Okay, bye!" As I turn to walk away, I feel someone put their hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, Madoka, I know I've already asked you this, but do you have _any_ clue what I should wish for? Any at all?" Sayaka decides to restart this debate that we've put on hold.

"Um...I'm not really sure. Actually, I don't even think you need my advice on this..." I give her my thoughts, so the case should be closed. But, sweet old Sayaka has to go and ask something she already knows the answer to.

I receive a blank stare before she responds.

"What do you mean?"

I lace by hands behind my back.

"I'm just saying that it's almost guaranteed that you'll make your wish for Kamijou-san, with the frequency you visit him and the way your eyes get unfocused whenever he's mentioned..."

"Alright, alright. I get it, I get it." she waves her arms around. "I _may_ have feelings for Kyousuke-chan. Just don't tell anybody, okay? Especially Hitomi-chan."_  
_

This shocks me a bit. I mean, I know that Hitomi isn't as close to us as aw are to each other, but she's still really close compared to everybody else.

"Why shouldn't she know?"

She looks at me with a peeved expression. "Don't tell me you haven't seen her have the same reactions I have when he's mentioned. "

I shrug. "I haven't noticed."

She lets out an exasperated sigh. "I told you not to tell me..."

"Sorry, sorry."

"Whatever. I guess I can understand. She does a better job of hiding it than I do; she only slips up occasionally. But when she slips they're _big_ slips. Enormous, even!" She stretches out her arms to emphasize it.

I smile. "They can't be that big if I haven't noticed them."

Sayaka wears an even larger one. "Self-denigration, huh? Do you know what I do to girls to do that?"

I feel myself start to giggle. "What's that?"

"I give them a great big hug! RAWR!" Sayaka starts to chase me around with her arms spread wide.

"No~!" I yell, though there's no power behind the word right now.

I can't even keep ahead of her for long; she's taller than me, and therefore has longer legs. So, obviously, she has longer strides.

She pulls me into a really tight hug, both of us giggling the whole time.

When we recover, we sit on the plaza bench to catch our breath.

Then I get up, because I saw something. Something interesting.

A cat has walked into the plaza. It has black fur and a white underbelly and part of its face. It has glowing turquoise eyes, and is eyeing the whole place warily.

"Ooh, a kitty!" Sayaka gets up suddenly, nearly knocking down the bench.

"Calm down, Sayaka. It could be a stray." I say, forever the voice of reason in this duo.

"But it has a collar." She starts to tap her temple. "Maybe we can return it to the owner for a reward..."

I sigh. "You talk so much about heroism, so you should know that the best reward is the satisfaction of doing something good."

She almost pouts. "So no reward?"

"No _material_ reward."

She sighs. "Okay, fine."

I hear someone chuckle. "Nice to know you came to a good conclusion, but know that the thought of rewarding you never crossed my mind."

I turn around and the first thing I see is the purple hair, which made me think that whoever it is is my mom. Upon further inspection, I see she's not as muscular as my mom, is a bit shorter, and has turquoise eyes. Because she's a girl, it has to be Kyou-san's sister, unless he's cross-dressing again...

But no, cross-dressing isn't it. It only tricks people that don't know him or his sister, because he's noticeably taller than her.

"Oh, hi...um..."

"Nanime."

"Nanime-san. Sorry, it's just that I don't really interact with you much, so I never really found out your name..."

She shrugs. "I understand. I barely know your name; though 'wheel' seems to come up whenever I try to get it right..."

"In that case, her name should be easy! 'Mado' roughly translates to wheel or circle, so just add 'ka' to the end, and you have Madoka!" Sayaka says, clearing up something that wasn't really clouded in the first place.

"I'm not going to argue with you right now; that's a debate for a later time." Nanime says to her.

Before the debate can start, though (because what Nanime just said is a surefire way to start some word wars), I ask what I've been meaning to ask.

"Is this adorable little cat yours?"

"I wouldn't say it's adorable, but yes, it's mine."

"Really? What's its name?" Sayaka asks, walking slowly over to him/her.

"Amy." she says with a smile. "Her name is Amy."

She and Amy hold eye contact for a while, then Nanime's eye twitches and she turns back to us. Well, I guess just me, because Sayaka is hugging Amy.

"Well, looks like someone's a cat person." she mutters. She looks at me for a second, then back at the hug-turned-scuffle. "Do you like cats much?" she asks while watching Amy struggle in interest.

It takes me a second to answer because it's actually a pretty skilled fight. They're both able to full-on wrestle without hurting each other.

"Well...yes, I am! Cats are cool! They're all cute and furry, and they're really smart!" I say, tempted to go over to pet Amy in the spur of the moment.

Nanime seems to think for a bit. "Tell ya what. I'll let you keep her for a week."

This shocks me a bit. "R-really? Is that okay?"

"Of course! Sharing is caring, right? And it's only for three days; I trust you'll take care of her."

She just lays her respect and trust for me out on the table. Another shock for tonight. She's placing her trust in me so fast, you'd think that she was trying to get rid of Amy.

_Thud!_

I look over and see Sayaka laid out on the ground with Amy's foot on top of her.

"Looks like Amy won..."

"There was no doubt in my mind that she would win." Nanime says arrogantly, smiling at the scene. "So you're gonna keep her?"

"Only for the three days, I guess. Will she hurt anyone?" I ask, more concerned for Tatsuya—my little brother—than for anyone else in my family.

"Only if you piss her off." She says merrily, and then walks away.


	8. Chapter 8: Homura's Quiet Fury

**A/N: Yeah, forget NaNoWriMo, I guess I'll work both side-by-side. I hope to Bob that Homura doesn't exist, because if she found out about what's about to be written, then...*draws finger across throat***

**Chapter 8: Homura's Quiet Fury**

* * *

"Mami, watch out!" I yell to her. The witch we're fighting—Charlotte, I think was what the runes said—transformed from this cute little pink thing with a brown scarf covered in pink polka dots to the Very Hungry Caterpillar after being hit by Mami's usual finishing attack, Tiro Finale.

She doesn't respond, she just stares shocked at the witch.

I guess it doesn't matter, I'm knocking an arrow right now. Actually, I just pulled the string and a pink arrow flashed into place.

I never get the chance to release it, though, because Sayaka unleashes a flurry of attacks, generating another sword after the one she was using got stuck in Charlotte.

"She's all yours, Madoka!" Sayaka calls to me. I line the arrow point up with Charlotte's head, and let it fly. The arrow has a trail of pink, and when it comes in contact with her, and pink light forms a heart before the witch screams and fades away.

"Wow, that was..." I start, then pause because I can't quite find the word.

"Girly? Then yeah, it was. I think it fits you perfectly, though!" Sayaka finishes for me, and I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment

I walk over to Mami and see she's trembling—sobbing, actually.

"Mami-san, are you okay?" I ask.

"I...almost died."

Sayaka walks up beside Mami. "The keyword here is almost. Focus on the fact that you survived, rather than the thought that you were near death. That means someone up there might have big plans for you!" she says cheerily, her optimism making light of the situation.

And can I say _unexpected_? Mami hugs Sayaka. Not like a half-assed one, a full-on hug. Kind of like the ones my Mama gives Saotome-sensei.

"Thank you for saving me, Miki-san." She switches from her to me. "You too, Kaname-san."

She releases me.

"Anything for a friend." Sayaka says, switching back to her normal attire. I guess I should do the same; I'd waste less magic doing so, but the transformation is a bit...embarrassing. Not only because of that period in between where we are completely devoid of garments, but...I don't know, actually. I guess I get self-conscious whenever I'm in the uniform.

The barrier dissolves around us. Sayaka leads the way, taking Mami by the hand. I follow along, speed-walking to keep up with Sayaka's rushed pace.

"Hey, why don't you make one of your cakes? I'm sorta late on one, thanks to Kyou-san. How about you make one of those...ah...what did you call it? A blackberry cheesecake, was it? That's the one I missed out on, do you mind making it again?" Sayaka slows down a bit, eyeing the blonde with concern. I think she's trying to reboot our friend.

"No, I don't mind..." She replies kind of slowly, I guess still in her stupor thanks to her near-death experience.

I can't stand to see her like this, so I think of a way I can help.

Then, a not so brilliant idea comes to mind. Something that will definitely wake her up, but could end up bad for me. Well, as Sayaka said, _'anything for a friend'. _I clear my throat. Not because I had to, but to build up the necessary courage to carry this plan out.

Louder than I intended, I start to speak. "Hmm...I wonder what it would be like to drink green tea with milk and sugar in it..."

Mami stops suddenly, almost pulling Sayaka's arm out of her socket when she kept on walking. She looks at me coldly. "How dare you even _think_ of committing such heresy?"

I feign a smile. I'm terrified, actually, and my legs are shaking. "I-I'm sorry, it just came to mind suddenly. I remember back when I watched anime...what was it called? I think it was something Nanoha. There was a character that always drank tea like that, so I was curious on just how it tastes."

Her features relax a bit. "Oh. Thank goodness you don't watch _that_ anymore."

I decide not to tell her that I'm still watching it.

Sayaka stares at us, a blank expression on her face, like she doesn't really care about our exchange. She's twisting the heel of her shoe on the concrete, as if anxious to leave. "C'mon guys, let's go!" She starts walking, and Mami lets her drag her. I let out a sigh of relief, thankful Mami didn't shoot me the minute I let that out. Feeling a bit apprehensive, I follow along, keeping a good buffer space between her and I.

* * *

_Finally got out of those damned ribbons. I get caught in them _every_ time; why do I keep getting restrained?_

"How'd you get caught in those anyway?" Kyou asks, putting away the scissors he used to cut me out of those flamboyant restraints. Though how the scissors cut through the magical ribbon, I don't know. I mean, he isn't the first person whose tried over the past few timelines, but he's the only one who's succeeded. First, he resists my time manipulation, then this? What other surprises does this one have for me?

"Mami thought I was there to steal her kill." I say monotonously.

"Ah...I don't quite know the rules of your system, but I take that what she did was reasonable." He ventures, and is right on point. In fact, I would've done the same if I had that ability, but I have to resort to freezing time and killing the witch so the competitor will back off.

"Oh, look, it's Mami and the others!" Kyou points behind me, and I see Sayaka practically dragging Mami. They look normal, like their everyday selves, but one thing about the group shocks me.

"M-Madoka?" I stammer. I can't quite believe my eyes. Aside from the fact that she's distanced herself from the other two, she's in this frilly loli dress-thingy, with a choker and red shoes that have like, 6 inch soles, which puts her a few inches above me, with my uniform on. The dress is pink, the frills are white, as well as the leggings, and the shoes are red.

"H-hello Homura-san." She smiles at me, but I can tell it's more for sake of hiding her nervousness than her actually being glad to see me, which breaks my heart. But I can't let that show.

"Please tell me you're just cosplaying." I say, pinching the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger.

"What's it to you?" Sayaka asks, on guard for her friend. Right then, though, she happened to remind me of a certain flaming individual...

"No, it's okay, Sayaka. Really." She pats her friend's shoulder. "I am a Puella Magi now. Now I can fight to help others, to help and protect you guys instead of the other way around."

I sigh. Not any regular old sigh, a signature Kristen Stewart sigh. Now the world's slated to end even earlier. I'll see what else this new world has in store for me, then I'm going to leave. By a new timeline or by other means.

"May I ask why you contracted?" I inquire, bracing myself if it's for something stupid, er...trivial.

"That's none of your business." Mami says, though her eyes say she might want to know why as well.

"No, Mami, it's fine. Really!"

"Come to think of it, you never told us why yourself..." Sayaka says, looking expectantly at Madoka.

"Then the dispute is resolved." I also look at Madoka to speak.

"I guess this could be interesting..." Kyou says, for some reason looking a bit nervous. If he thinks it's going to be interesting why is he sweating?

She clears her throat. "Well, Nanime-san—Kyou-san's sister, for those who don't know," she looks at Mami, "let me keep her cat Amy for a few days, starting on Friday night and ending this morning. I think Amy-chan got in a fight or something, but when I came across her she was on the brink of death." Madoka sniffs. "She died in my arms." I look at Kyou and he's frantically tapping on the button of his briefcase. "Kyuubey was riding on my shoulder at the time, so I asked him to revive her, mostly because I didn't want to get in trouble with Kyou-san and his mom." She looks at Kyou. " Your sister told me you and Amy were so close you were practically one being."

On that note, Kyou pales, and abruptly stopping his musical tapping.

_What's his problem?_

Then I'm reminded of the cat I found in my flat on Sunday. "Madoka..."

"Yes, Homura-san?"

I narrow my eyes. "Can you describe Amy for me?"

Her eyes light up. "Sure! She was cute and fuzzy. More specifically, she had black fur with a white underbelly and bright turquoise eyes.

"Okay..." I almost throw a temper tantrum. I should've killed the damned furball when I found it in my house.

"Uh...I...I have to go..." Kyou declares, and scrambles away.

We're silent for a bit, then Sayaka does what she does best, break the silence.

"What's his problem? Seriously, what is it? He was getting paler and paler throughout Madoka's story, and then he runs off like that?"

"He looked sick..." Mami points out.

"Do you think it's serious?" Madoka wonders.

I'm barely aware of what they're saying. I'm making connections. Now, the eye color could be a coincidence, but his behavior was very abnormal right then. Normally I'd leave something like that alone, but now's different. He's an abnormality as a being, so anything involving him could possibly be something that can either aid or hurt me.

"I'll...go see what's wrong." The phrase feels foreign to my mouth; I haven't said that in a while. I turn without another word, walking after him.

"Wow...that's weird for her..." I hear Sayaka say. "Let us know what's wrong, will ya?"

"Sure thing!" I call back, and flip my hair.


End file.
